Breaking news: Mets deal Milledge

The Mets will announce today the trade of outfielder Lastings Milledge to the Washington Nationals for catcher Brian Schneider and outfielder Ryan Church.

Schneider, 31, is regarded for his defense and ability to handle pitchers. He hit .235 with six homers and 54 RBI last season. Church, 29, hit .272 with 15 homers and 70 RBI.

Getting Schneider enables the Mets to now trade Johnny Estrada, who they got from Milwaukee for Guillermo Mota.

Milledge showed signs of living up to his promise when he made the team coming out of spring training, but injuries limited him to .272 with seven homers and 29 RBI in only 184 at-bats.

Milledge was thought of as a potential trade chip for pitching, but this now frees the Mets to use Church and deal Carlos Gomez, or the other way around. It also now enables them to package catcher Johnny Estrada in a deal.

John Delcos enters his third season covering the Mets for The Journal News after eight seasons on the Yankees beat. Prior to coming to New York, John covered the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Indians.